


christmas lights

by emilia_kaisa



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Christmas, Fluff and Humor, Future Fic, LobbySecretSanta, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28202226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilia_kaisa/pseuds/emilia_kaisa
Summary: An unexpected blizzard forces four travellers to change their plans.
Relationships: Jason Brown/Shoma Uno, Javier Fernández/Yuzuru Hanyu, Nathan Chen/Evgenia Medvedeva
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	christmas lights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ForeverDoesntExist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverDoesntExist/gifts).



> (Yes I borrowed the title from Coldplay)  
> Merry Christmas! This fic is for one of my favourite people out there, hope you enjoy it and have the best time during holidays <3

"Thank you!" Nate says, louder than usual, so his voice can get through the noise of the cars and people, and freezing wind whistling harshly on the snowy street.

"No problem." the taxi driver grunts, getting Nate's suitcase out of the trunk and basically dropping it to the wet asphalt "Hope you manage to fly today." the man adds then, as if feeling a little guilty for bad baggage treatmeant and wanting to make up for it with some polite interest.

"Yeah, fingers crossed." Nate chuckles and then winces when a couple of snowflakes stick to his eyelashes "Thanks once again!"

He drags his suitcase through the thin layer of snow and he sighs with relief when he walks inside the building, the wave of heat hitting him straight in the face. It isn't extremely cold outside, but wind and snow are doing their job and it's nice when he feels his fingers warming up.

Nate runs a hand through his hair and winces when he feels how damp it is, and then he looks around to localize the nearest board with departures. He feels his stomach churns a little as he scans the list of the flights from the top to bottom, a large number of them delayed or canceled, but he breathes out with relief to see that there is nothing next to the one he's supposed to board in two hours. He's a little surprised check-in isn't open yet but he knows how hectic airports can be, so he stands here for a moment, wondering whether he should sit in some corner or go check out overpriced stuff at airport stores. But just as he's about to walk away, the word "delayed" blinks in orange at him, followed by an annoucement through the speakers that his flight to Los Angeles is delayed and that further information will be shared as soon as possible.

Nate sighs heavily and turns around, and he can swear his suitcase weighs more than it did before. The airport is quite busy, crowded with people in the same situation as him, hoping to get home for Christmas and currently being stuck in a big unknown about when it will be possible. Nate doesn't panic, though, because during his skating he went through all the issues with planes, starting from delays, through cancellations and lost luggage to an emergency landing. And for now it's just a minor inconvenience, and Nate decides that since he has some time, he can as well grab some tea, or maybe that coffee shop he's approaching has some cool holiday special.

The place is packed, but Nate spots two free chairs by the counter and he maneuvers in between tables and pieces of luggage, apologizing a couple of times before he reaches his desired destination and climbs on a bar stool. He spots a little colorful menu with a gingerbread man printed on the top, and he reaches for it; just like he hoped, there is a nice choice of Christmas-themed beverages that are quite expensive and probably overly sugary, but Nate decides not to dwell on it and he orders a gingerbread hot chocolate and then he takes his phone out, ready to inform his family and three group conversations about the status of his Christmas journey.

He's in the middle of calming his mom down when he hears, or more like feels, someone taking the free chair next to him. He doesn't turn to look, he doesn't want to seem creepy, but he thinks it's a woman when he smells the scent of orange and something woodsy twirling in his nose.

"Hello, I would like that Cranberry Margarita?" a melodic, distinctly familiar voice says and Nate's head turns on its own, a littla alarm bell going off in the back of his head, telling him that he definitely knows that person.

A suprised "oh" leaves his mouth and a young woman jumps in her seat, looking at him and yes, they definitely know each other.

"Oh my god, hi!" Zhenya exclaims, brushing a long strand of hair behind her ear, clearly as surprised as him, but she collects herself quickly "I'm- hi, Nate." she laughs, a little awkward, and Nate quickly shakes the shock off, adapting to the situation like a pro he is.

"Hi! Wow, that's a suprise." he chuckles, extending his hand, and she shakes it in a greeting, her grip warm and solid.

"Yeah." she smiles "Um, so where are you flying? How are you?"

"I'm-" he starts, ready to start the standard small talk, but they're interrupted by a barista who brings both their orders "Oh, that looks cool!" he notices, looking at her drink and she grins.

"I like to check out these seasonal coctails. And I have a long flight later. Well, I hope I still have it."

"Moscow?"

"Yes. And you?"

"Los Angeles. Hoping I can get there before Christmas Day or mom will have my head."

Zhenya laughs, easy and vibrant, and Nate feels he's about to grin like an idiot, and to mask it he takes a sip of his hot chocolate, and it's so sweet he knows he will need to order water or something to wash all the sugar off his teeth. He tries to remember the last time they saw each other and he can't tell, honestly. Was it at some competition, or a show? Whenever it was, it feels like both a lifetime and three months.

"So, what are you doing now?" Zhenya asks, her elegant fingers wrapped around the glass "I mean, I saw on instagram. Medical school, right? That's so cool."

"Thanks! And yeah, it is! Also it's the reason I'm here in Toronto."

"Oh?"

"We had this student conference, I've learned so much. And what about you, what are you up to these days?"

"I'm-" Zhenya starts, but then stops with her mouth still open, listening to the annoucement informing everyone that the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul is still delayed.

"Uh, great." she mutters and she must see a question in Nate's eyes because she shrugs and smiles, a little tiredly "There's no direct ones to Moscow, I have a stop in Instanbul."

"I see." Nate hums and then asks again what she's doing now, and they have a nice conversation during which he learns about her shows and also plans to join one of the coaching teams. It's nice, and even though they were never really close, usually narrowing their encounters down to casual chats, now it feels easy and comfortable, kind of like old school friends meeting at a homecoming.

And beside the friendly ease of the conversation, Nate also can't ignore the fact that Zhenya looks really pretty, with her long wavy hair and big eyes that are dark shining with confidence and contentment. It's a good look on her, and Nate feels the tips of his ears getting just a little bit warmer than the rest of his body, a silly reaction he gets when he finds someone attractive, but before he has a chance to ask himself if he want to analyze that, Zhenya's phone vibrates and she drops her gaze to the screen, eyes narrowing for a second. And then she smiles and turns around in her chair so quickly her hair grazes his face, and she waves at someone before looking at Nate again.

"So Javi's there and asks if we want to join." she says, pointing vaguely at a table in the corner, and Nate blinks quickly, a little confused but also kinda having fun with how the evening is going.

"Yeah, cool!" he says, grabbing the handle of his suitcase "Did you have some secret meeting?"

"Working on some project." she laughs mysteriously, and then they reach Javi's table and Nate notices that there is also someone else sitting there, elbows on the top and face hidden in hands, shoulders and head hidden under a green hoodie.

"Nate, hi!" Javi exclaims happily, standing up and reaching out to shake Nate's hand, his pose a little awkward since his suitcase is blocking his legs "Sorry for the weird invite, I didn't know if it wasn't a date so didn't want to put any pressure."

"It's cool." Nate chuckles, sitting down next to him "This is quite a meeting, huh?"

"Yeah. I didn't think we would bump into Zhenya, her flight was supposed to be much earlier than ours. But I'm slowly losing hope in ours too." Javi says and the hooded figure grumbles, and Nate's eyes widen, because he's pretty sure he knows that sound.

Javi clears his throat pointedly and Nate clearly sees him giving the person a kick under the table, making them straighten up, and then Nate finds himself face to face with Yuzuru.

"Hi!" her smiles sunnily and Yuzuru blinks before smiling back, a little tight but polite as always.

"Hello, Nate."

They haven't seen each other in a long time too, and definitely never outside an event, so this is a brand new situation. But also they're not competing against each other anymore, which is even newer, and honestly, it makes Nate quite curious.

"So, you guys are going back home for Christmas-"

"We're- ow, Yuzu, what the fuck?" Javi grumbles, bending down a little to touch his calf and Nate opens his mouth, feeling confusion stirring inside him, and he looks at Zhenya whose expression is such a mix of emotions Nate has no idea if he's sharing his feelings or not.

The silence stretches for a minute or two and Nate shifts in his seat awkwardly, making a decision to speak and get the conversation going somewhere, but then another announcement starts, and an airport lady recites flights that are now canceled, and Nate isnt even that surprised when he hears his plane number.

"Okay, I guess I gotta go find some information-" he starts, standing up, and he gasps quietly when he sees his companions on the move too.

"I guess we're all on the same team." Zhenya laughs, and then proposes to meet up near the coffee shop again after they get some information so they can work something out together. Nate agrees quickly, because it's always nice to have company during these kinds of adventures.

After standing in an ouragousely long line, Nate learns that departures will be on hold till at least noon of the next day, and that he will get a refund to cover his accomodation. After that Nate's positive attitude dims a little, because a quick search through his booking apps makes him realize that finding something that his refuns covers completely won't be that easy. But well, it's basically holidays already, and with flights and probably also some buses canceled, things of course had to go tense.

"Okay, seems like we might just stay here?" Javi says after the four of them meet up again and they brief each other quickly, their situations basically the same "I mean, this place is huge, we could crash in some corner."

"Nope." Yuzuru shakes his head, throwing Javi a stern glance "This isn't some three hours delay, I don't want to be stuck here till tomorrow’s afternoon."

That was the longest sentence he said today in Nate's presence, and Nate's quite impressed with a visible improvement in his English, but he decides to share his compliments for some other time. He's just about to propose some group hotel searching, but then Zhenya snaps her fingers, a wide smile growing on her lips.

"Guys, maybe I will call Jason?"

"Jason?" Nate asks and then hums, realizing that she of course means Jason Brown.

"I mean, he said he would stay in Toronto." Javi says slowly "But I don't know, do we really wanna bother him?"

"I will just ask." Zhenya says, already taking her phone out of her pocket "Or maybe he could give us a ride, things will be packed now."

She has a point, so the three of them wait as Zhenya steps aside to make a call.

"So, Nate, what's up?" Javi asks easily and it's time for the little repeat of the conversation he had earlier with Zhenya. It's nice, but now Nate can't help but look discreetly between Javi and Yuzuru and wondering what's going on. He's not the one to pry on other peoples' lives, and he never took part in that 'are they/aren't they' game that used to go around in the backstage for some time, but now, when neither of them is competing, Nate feels just a little bit of curiosity. But he forgets about it the moment Zhenya is back, because he's too busy appreciating how pretty she looks with that wide smile and mussed hair falling around her face.

"Jason is the biggest sweetheart and he's ready to take us all, as long as two people are okay with sleeping on camping mats in the kitchen-"

"Yeah, I'm booking that spot." Nate chimes in instantly and Zhenya looks at him with a smile, and the tips of his ears tingle.

"I always liked camping." Javi adds, raising his hand towards Nate for a high five.

They find a place to sit and wait for about forty minutes when Zhenya gets a signal that their ride is there, and as they make their way to the car Nate feels his heart fill with overwhelming gratitude for Jason for doing that. The weather outside is nasty, big snowfall even more intense than before and it has to be a pain to drive through that, luckily there doesn't seem to be many cars, most of the people wisely choosing to stay at home.

"Oh my god, hello guys! Quick, quick, is everyone okay?" Jason chirps from the driver seat and pulls away the moment everyone's inside "It's so wild out there, but I swear we're not gonna end up in a ditch-"

The next half an hour is filled with a messy and loud talk, when everyone's too excited and the space is too small and there's too little time for anything specific, just random fatcs and exclamations thrown in between grey walls of Jason's car. Nate spends the ride squeezed in the backstea between Zhenya and Javi and honestly, he feels like a kid going for a schooltrip. Sure, it's definitely not what he planned, but it's fun, and it's exciting, and Nate isn't going to complain. He feels maybe a tiny bit guilty that they're all randomly inviding Jason's place, but he seems relaxed and glad about the company, although Nate thinks that he his eyes lookes a little anxious a couple of times he caught his gaze in the backmirror.

"Okay here we are!" Jason exclaims as he pulls the car into a parking lot and shuts the engine down "Although, hmm, there's something you guys should know."

"Hmm?"

"So-" Jason clears his throat and fidgets in his seat so now he has a good look at evryone "So actually, my boyfriend is visiting, I just don't want you to be surprised. And no, you guys don't bother us, don't worry about that, we're gonna have plenty of time for celebration during Christmas-"

Jason lets the words out with a speed of machine gun and for a moment Nate has difficulties to catch up, but then he gasps loudly, surprised and guilt slapping him in the face yet again.

"Oh my god, and you didn't say anything?!" Zhenya screeches, leaning forward and putting her elbow on Nate's knee so he can get closer to Jason "How could you?!"

"Sorry, this is kinda, you know. New?" Jason chuckles awkwardly "You know, we-"

"No need to explain, Jason." Javi says gently, and Nate's really grateful for the mature step in "We're really grateful you took us in, and we won't bother you. Right, Yuzu?" Javi says with some amount of pressure on the last word and Yuzuru, who has been awfully silent during the whole ride, flinches as if woken up from a dream and smiles at Jason sweetly, the brightest expression Nate has seen on him so far.

"Great, then let's go!"

Thankfully, Jason's building has an elevator, so the road to the fifth floor wasn't either long or exhausting. It took only a couple of minutes during which Nate wondered who Jason's mysterious boyfriend could be, and he also stole a few glances at Zhenya who was poorly covering her excitement.

"Here we are!" Jason exclaims, opening the door with a pretty Advent wreath hanging on it, and they all step into a narrow corridor painted in happy tone of yellow "Okay, let's get your stuff to the living room for now, it right here on the right-"

They follow him to a cosy living room where they put their suitcases next to the balcony door and then Jason sighs with a smile, maybe a little nervous, and Nate feels a strong wave of sympathy for him. He gets it, that it must be quite a lot, to have all of the sudden introduce his partner to a couple of old friends when he hasn't planned that yet, and he just hoped Jason doesn't feel uncomfortable.

"Okay, yeah, come to the kitchen for the big reveal." Jason chuckles and Zhenya almost jumps from excitement, and Nate can't hold back his curiosity either as they follow Jason yet again.

But well, the last person Nate expected to see in Jason's kitchen was Shoma freaking Uno. Moreover, it's Shoma wearing an apron with Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer printed on it, and he's holding a wooden spoon that is now pointed at them almost accusingly.

For a moment everyone freezes, too shell shocked to make a sound, and then suddenly Yuzuru speaks, rapid Japanese words in a tone Nate can't identify. Shoma doesn't seem to impressed with whatever is being said, replying morosely which makes Yuzuru let out a high pitched sound that makes Nate cringe, and at that Jason steps in thankfully, adding a couple of words in a soothing tone before stepping closer to Shoma and taking his hand.

"So, here we are!" he says brightly, and Nate knows he should get out some decent reaction, but he can only stare and hope he doesn't look too creepy. The rest seems to be in a similar state, and Javi is the first one to collect himself.

"Hi, Shoma!" he exclaimes as if it's the most natural thing in the world and he has been expecting Shoma there all along "Great to see you! Also, something smells great in here!"

"Cake." Shoma informs him, previosuly gloomy expression relaxing now into a smile "Deniss gave me recipe. Almost ready!"

"You will get a piece when it's done. Are you guys hungry, or maybe you'd like something to drink?"

They quickly organize some tea and coffee for Javi and Zhenya, and they move back to the living room where everyone finds a spot to sit on the sofa and two armchairs. Nate finds himself squeezed between the armrest and Zhenya, and he can almost feel confusion radiating from her, even though she manages to keep that out of her face, and Nate gets that totally. He likes both Jason and Shoma, and maybe they're not the closest of friends, but he still needs some time to wrap his mind around it.

"This is crazy that you all of you guys got stucked at the airport at the same time, right?" Jason starts the conversation with his neverending enthusiasm and good humor, and Nate feels these things passing to him and he relaxes, ready to have a fun evening in good company.

"Thanks once again for letting us crash, you're a lifesaver." he says and Jason smiles at him brightly, but before he can say somethng Shoma walks in, now without an apron but with a plate full of cake in his hand.

"He has the best heart." Shoma states, sitting down next to Jason, and Zhenya makes a quiet sqeualing sound before covering her mouth with her hands.

"I'm sorry, this is just-" she chuckles, blushing a little, and Nate thinks that it's adorable "This is such a surprise, you didn't tell me anything!" she says, looking at Jason who shrugs with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry! But we're just, you know- taking it slow."

"Don't worry, tomorrow we'll be gone so you guys can have your romantic Christmas." Javi chuckles and Shoma grins, nodding.

"Yeah. And you, everyone? Going home for Christmas?"

"Yep!"

"Yes, Moscow is the prettiest in winter-"

"Madrid is beautiful too, with all the lights. I know you're going to love it." Javi says brightly, turning to look at Yuzuru, who has been sitting silently for the past couple of minutes and now flinched, squirming in his place a little and clearly not looking eager to answer.

Shoma, on the other hand, lets out a gasp and then smirks, a glint of triumph in his eyes.

"Oh, you are spending Christmas together too?" he asks in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Not exactly." Yuzuru says and Nate can feel Zhenya tense a little bit, as if she's surprised.

Javi seems to be surprised too, because he blinks quickly, and then narrows his eyes.

"What do you mean by not exactly?" he asks, and Nate is a bit worried by the suddenly colder tone of his voice.

"You know." Yuzuru mutters, looking down at his hands "We talk later."

"Of course, later." Javi mumbles "I wonder when that magical ‘later’ will actually happen."

Yuzuru doesn't look up at him, and the next few moments are so heavy and uncomfortable Nate is just about to crack some dumb joke just to defuse the tension, but then Javi stands up and asks if it's okay to check out the balcony before going there.

"Well-" Jason clears his throat "So-"

"We're gonna go make more tea!" Zhenya announces all of the sudden, standing up rapidly and putting her hand on Nate's shoulder, basically dragging him with her to the kitchen- somehting he's really grateful for, because the moment they leave the living room he can hear a rapid convo in Japanese.

"Well, this is an adventurous evening." Nate chuckles, reaching for a tea box and checking out the colorful labels to identify the flavours, and Zhenya sighs, leaning against the counter next to him.

"Tell me about it." she shakes her head "For the past week they've been, you know. That."

"Dramatic?"

"Yeah." Zhenya chuckles, grabbing the kettle and filling it with water "For what I know Javi invited Yuzu for Christmas and they're going, but you see how they’re acting."

"Mhh." Nate hums "So they're dating?"

"That I’m not able to tell." Zhenya laughs, turning the kettle on and turning to face him fully "And what about you?"

"Huh?" Nate blinks, confused, and her smile turns a bit sheepish.

"Do you have any time for dating?"

"Well, yeah, not exactly." Nate admits. They never talked about that, but he doesn't mind more personal topics, and well, it opens him a gate to ask back "You?"

"It's not that easy." Zhenya chuckles, blushing again, and yes, it's definitely adorable and Nate's stomach flutters, just a little.

He talks to plenty of girls, his classmates and friends, but somehow with Zhenya it feels different, somehow. Or maybe she's just different from any other girl he knows.

They make the tea and carry it back to the living room, and thankfully no one is arguing and Yuzuru doesn't carry that gloomy expression, but Nate notices with worry that his cheeks are kinda flushed and his eyes a bit glassy, as if he was about to cry.

"Hi guys, just on time." Jason smiles "Thank you so much."

"Sure." Zhenya smiles back, her and Nate stopping next to the table and putting the cups down "Everything alri-"

"Aha!" Shoma exclaims so loudly Nate almost jumps up.

"Uhhh, what?"

"There." Shoma grins, ponting up, and when Nate follows his gesture he sees a bunch of mistletoe hanging from the lamp, and Nate feels his throat going dry.

"Don't feel pressured guys, we just put it there for fun." Jason says and Nate nods, ready to move on, but Zhenya chuckles and leans forward to leave a brief kiss on his cheek, and Nate can swear the world stops for a moment.

"Oh." he mumbles in awe and Zhenya smiles at him bashfully before sitting down on the sofa, and it takes Nate a couple of seconds to join her, because he's still processiinf what has just happened.

"Umm, is Javi trying to get hypothermia out there?" he asks, both wanting to turn attention elsewhere and actually worrying, and Yuzuru flinches.

"I will go get him." he says, standing up, and Zhenya leans closer to Nate, her lips right next to his ear.

"Dramatic." she whispers and Nate has to bit on his lower lip not to laugh, and he watches how Yuzuru takes Javi's both hands and basically drags him inside and to the middle of the room.

"You're dumb." Yuzuru mumbles, reaching up to touch Javi's hair and get rid of snowflakes stuck there, and the gesture is so tender Nate feels like they shouldn't be watching that. But Javi and Yuzuru don't seem to mind that there are other people there, and well, as far as Nate recalls, they never really cared who was witnessing their interacions.

"And you're an asshole." Javi states, but the tone of his voice is gentle and Yuzuru doesn't seem to take offense in that at all. Instead, he smiles and launches into a hug that makes Nate feel warm inside.

“But you like me anyway. Even when I’m scared to meet your family for real.”

“Touche.”

"Okay, that's all cute and shit." Shoma says, visibly trying to hide a yawn "But it's late, so who's sleeping in the kitchen?"

"If all went according to the plan, I would be home right now." Nate hums, looking at the ceiling painted with colorful dots coming from the Christmas lights hanging in the window.

Him and Zhenya are camping comoftably on the kitchen floor, sprawled on foam mattresses and feeling comfy in their sleeping bags. The apartment is quiet, everyone probably sleeping already, but Nate doesn't really feel that sleepy. It's nice, and oddly intimate, to just be like that, next to a person he likes so much and yet sometimes still feels like a stranger, just a little bit.

"You regret?" Zhenya asks, turning her body and propping herself on her elbow, looking down at him, and he can see her pretty smile, and he just has to smile back.

"Nah. This is kinda cool." Nate chuckles quietly and she nods, and then chews on her bottom lip, as if she's thinking something through.

"It is." she agrees, and then just like that, she leans down and pecks him on the lips, a chaste little kiss that makes Nate's heart stutter.

"Sorry." she giggles, putting her head back on the pillow and Nate grins, turning to his side so he can face her properly.

"I don't complain."

"I just thought I saw some mistletoe on the table."

"Well, bless Jason and Shoma then." Nate says and Zhenya laughs, a vibrant, lovely sound that he could listen to endlessly.

They look at each other for a moment, completely silent, and Nate knows that no matter what happens next, he will be coming to that memory with nothing but fondness.

"Goodnight, Nate." Zhenya whispers, reaching out to touch the fabric of his shirt, right above his quickly beating heart.

"Goodnight." Nate whispers back, gently covering her hand with his.

Yes. Whatever happens, he will always have this to keep, a little moment of magic just before Christmas- a gentle reminder than everything is possible, and sometimes unexpected.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
